Nightmares of a Broken Bird
by shadows-haunt-angels
Summary: Dick Grayson, once Robin, now Nightwing, lost one team to a villain worse than any he's ever encountered, and started another, but what happens when the team he lost comes back for him, whether he wants them to or not? What if they're damaged and in need of help?


**Four Years Previous**

" _Three little words, that's all you need to make this stop. All you have to say is three little words. I. Give. Up. Now is that that hard, Robin?" The Mistress, he knew._

" _Robin, just give up, it'll be easier!" That was M'gann._

" _Little Brother, the time for being prideful is not now. Just submit." Kaldur._

" _Come on Rob, give already! We did." His best friend, Kid Flash_

 _The voices rang out from a window separating a dark and dirty room from them. The object of their attention didn't dare to lift his head, to see the faces of his once friends, broken until they served without question. He couldn't, he knew it would break him. They one had all been in the room with him, suffering tortures of the most heinous sort alongside him. They, his friends, his team, his family, gave in. Robin, Boy Wonder, refused to give in. It showed, every inch of his body was covered in scars, caused by methodological slashes, burns, electrocution, and that was when they were not forced to fight each other to the breaking point._

" _Robin… Dick... Please, I can't watch this continue, just give up, it'll all be over. We can be together, no one can stop us!"_

 _Robin shook his head, his eyes not leaving the blood-spattered floor in front of him. 'Not her, that's not fair. They can't use her against me,' he thought. She had been the third to give, after Wally and Artemis. He had a growing crush on her when she was first introduced to the team. That's when he heard the sound he had come to dread, the door opening. Instead of the usual robot to maim him even more, it was something he considered far worse. Her. Zatanna, the magic user of the group, was in the room. 'I won't look. I can't see that tattoo on her, to know that she was broken. If I look, she'll convince me to give.'_

 _He felt her gloved hand brush his long hair out of his face, to better show his eyes. They had long since taken his mask, the thing that made him feel safe. Dimly he realized she had been pushing on his chin, trying to get him to look at her. "Dick, look at me. It'll be alright. Just say the words, please! I can't stand to watch you suffer like this!" He merely shook his head, never looking up into the watering eyes of Zatanna, her left eye surrounded by a sunburst tattoo. The tattoo she had put on every team member that gave, showing allegiance to her, the self-named Mistress._

" _Well, Zatanna, if he won't listen to you, then he simply requires more… persuasion in the matter. You may come back tomorrow and try again." The clanking feet of an approaching robot grew louder, coming to rip and tear at his body even more. He felt Zatanna's lips press against his cheek before she left, the smell of vanilla lingering. The door shut and the robot approached. Robin heard a blade spinning up, then the only sounds he could hear was his own screams._

 _Hours after, it was finished. He had several new cuts on his ribs, mockingly cut in the shape of his "R" from his suit, along with a newly broken arm. That's when he felt something strange. His ears, they were picking up noised he had never heard before. He could hear everything. Every heartbeat, breath, and conversation for miles. "What's happening? I don't have any powers. There's no way!" Slowly, for the next several hours, due the break given to him so he didn't die from torture, he experimented. Robin was a sonokinetic, he discovered. The constant torture must have activated a latent Metagene, he hypothesized. For the first time in a year and a half, all of which was torture, Robin smiled._

 _He hummed, using his newfound powers to lower the frequency to the point that the constraints he had suffered for so long vibrated apart, freeing him. 'I'm not tied up anymore, now what?' The idea came to him, but he didn't like it. He would have to hurt his family, even if they weren't his anymore. Then he said it. "Alright! Enough! It was too much. I give up, just no more!" Robin added in a sob to make it seem convincing. For several moments, nothing happened, then the door slid open. The team came barreling in, smiling and seemingly innocent, but Robin knew better. Zatanna hugged him in close,and he took one last breath of the vanilla he knew he would be leaving behind,then whispered in her ear, "I'm sorry." He hit everyone in the room with the loudest sound he could remember, his own screaming, then bolted while all of them writhed on the ground in pain, especially Conner._

 _He zigzagged through corridors and various hallways, up multiple flights of stairs, launching himself with bursts of low frequency sounds, before breaking out into the daylight. It was blinding, but he recognized several buildings and signs. Metropolis. Robin could work with that, especially since he could hear metallic feet hitting the floor in succession behind him, coming to take him back underground. He took a breath, and screamed as loud as he could, amplifying it as much as he could. The ground rumbled, glass shattered, but most importantly, Superman would come running._

 _The metallic clangs of robotic feet stopped, and Robin heard the Mistress's voice hiss from the shadows. "Fine, boy. You are free today, but we will come. I have your family now, and they will do anything to get you. Enjoy your freedom, it won't last." The robots retreated, leaving a broken, bloodied teenager on the streets of Metropolis, before a shell-shocked Superman grabbed him, pulling Robin into his chest. Superman pulled out his communicator, and activated it._

" _This is Superman to Watchtower, I've got Robin. Repeat, I have Robin. That was the last thing Robin remembered before sliding into blissful unconsciousness._

Hello! This is my first ever fic! I'm danceman (long story there) but anyways, tell me what you think! And for those of you who recognize the themes, this story is VERY HEAVILY inspired and influeced by the story "Remember Your Nightmares" by FudoTwin17, so props to them!


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